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About Máirín Duffy

Máirín is a principal interaction designer at Red Hat. She is passionate about software freedom and free & open source tools, particularly in the creative domain: her favorite application is Inkscape. You can read more from Máirín on her blog at blog.linuxgrrl.com.

or as I posted on the art list, the katana was a marvel of technology when it was invented. I see much of Fedora in that comparison.

I find it simplistic to discard it because it so happens that a katana can we used to commit acts of violence. A willing human being can kill another human being with most anything including his own hands if he so desires. Today, katanas are decoration items, many of my friends have them hanging and they are beautiful items with great history attached to them.

The katana and tampon both were marvels of technology in their day, weren’t they? Doesn’t mean I want a blue-liquid-filled tampon representing Fedora.

I understand that things that normally are linked with violence or other negative connotations can, in the proper context, be interpreted in an intelligent and insightful way unrelated to the general perception. For example, Jonathan Swift suggests eating human children in a Modest Proposal. The message his paper put forth however, couldn’t be any further than suggesting that the Irish people eat their children and it carried a clear message broadcasting the direness of the humanitarian crisis in Ireland at the time.

I don’t see any insightful, eye-opening, or uplifting message to this imagery though. I don’t see any link to Fedora. I don’t see how the image represents technology or the marvels of technology. It’s just a picture of a katana sunk into the ground with blue flower petals. The statement it makes to me is, ‘Fedora. We’re coming for you.’ or ‘Fedora. We won’t go down without a fight.’ These are not the kinds of messages and imagery I want promulgated about Fedora.

It’s down to between Solar and InvinXble. I’ve seen a similar Gears design elsewhere before (though I believe the link has been defunct for quite some time), and Neon is a bit simplistic for my tastes. Great job on all though!